Let's Stop And Steep Awhile
by Swishyhead
Summary: In the aftermath of the Hazakura incident, Phoenix and Miles finally get a chance to sit down and just talk… about who they were, what they've done, and who they might yet be to each other. An Ace Attorney Secret Santa gift for UnknowableKnife.


2019 Ace Attorney Secret Santa Gift

To: Marty (aka UnknowableKnife)

From: Rachel (aka Swishyhead)

Let's Stop And Steep Awhile

In the aftermath of the Hazakura incident, Phoenix and Miles finally get a chance to sit down and just _talk_… about who they were, what they've done, and who they might yet be to each other.

* * *

Miles Edgeworth is standing in the middle of the sidewalk, one incredulous eyebrow raised at the sign he has to squint (just slightly) to read.

"The Turn-A-Spout Café," he deadpans, frowning at the wooden sign suspended on a wrought-iron pole above the shop's door. The sign is emblazoned with a white and lavender teapot pouring liquid (presumably tea) onto the nameplate fastened below, where the café's name is written in elegantly whimsical cursive.

"Hey, don't knock it 'til you try it."

The jovial reply causes Edgeworth's other eyebrow to join the first, and he slowly lowers his gaze from the sign to fix the speaker with a baleful glare.

"Oh, don't give me that," Phoenix Wright scoffs. "You and I both know that you would have burst into flames if you'd taken one step into a Starbucks. Besides, this place is really good."

The cognitive dissonance conjured by the image of _Phoenix Wright_ spending his leisure time in a café is enough to make Edgeworth briefly forget his unease. "You've been here before?" he queries, making a conscious effort to bring his eyebrows down to their normal height. It wouldn't do to insult the man by appearing too surprised.

But Phoenix sees through him anyways. The blue-suited lawyer offers him a sheepish grin in response. "Yeah, I know, it doesn't seem very 'me'." His smile then softens. "But Mia used to like this place. She even took me here once, when I'd just gotten my badge."

"I see," Edgeworth replies. Mention of Mia Fey gives him pause, and he finds his thoughts drifting to the many reasons he has to be here today – reasons that far outweigh his trepidation. He sighs and, as a silent show of concession, pulls the door open and holds it for Phoenix. The blue-suited lawyer looks far too delighted at this, and they proceed to enter what Miles is sure will prove to be a run-of-the-mill coffee shop.

Almost immediately, Miles is grudgingly (albeit silently) beginning to revise his opinion of the place. The high ceilings give the space an airy feel, while the furniture looks cozy without crossing the line into kitschy. The fact that the shelves behind the back counter are lined with jar upon jar of loose-leaf tea is, in Edgeworth's mind, a good omen.

Speaking of tea, it proves to be the source of Edgeworth's second surprise of the day. As he and Phoenix approach the counter, he is expecting the attorney to order supermarket-quality Orange Pekoe or something equally banal – so when he instead orders a loose-leaf green tea dotted with jasmine pearls, Edgeworth openly gawks.

Phoenix seems to be acutely aware of how very off-brand he is being today, for he favours the gobsmacked prosecutor with another grin. He remains silent this time, however, and instead saunters over to an empty table for two.

Imp.

Edgeworth orders an Earl Grey latte and follows, setting the mug and saucer down on his side of the table with utmost care. Phoenix's hands are already encircling his own mug, and the slight shiver that runs through his body as he stares at his tea abruptly reminds Edgeworth just how recently this man was fished out of a freezing river.

"How are you?" Edgeworth murmurs, cringing internally at his lacklustre question.

If Phoenix is underwhelmed, however, he's kind enough to keep it to himself. His gaze softens, but doesn't leave his mug. "This tea was Mia's favourite," he replies, heedless of the slight non sequitur as his grip on the mug tightens slightly. Finally, he looks up at Edgeworth with a wry smile. "Truthfully, I'm a hot chocolate man, but if I can drink a cup of coffee as tribute to Godot, you bet I can suffer more caffeine to honour the Chief."

"I see." Edgeworth pauses, weighing his words. "Wright, about the end of the trial… Why _did_ you join Godot in his silly little farewell toast? He is-"

"The reason Maya's an orphan? Yeah, I know." Phoenix sighs, pausing to take a sip of his tea. Miles can practically see the warmth and comfort of it flow through the other man, and it's all he can do to keep his breath from catching at the sight.

Phoenix looks back up at him, those eyes shining as brilliantly as they did in court. "I don't support what Godot did, and I'm glad he'll be atoning for his crimes. But he loved Mia, and she loved him, and… and maybe he and I aren't so different."

"Wright, what-"

"When Mia died, I felt… adrift. Untethered. But I had a job to do, a crime to solve. A mentor to avenge and her sister to defend. Diego Armando didn't have any of that. His pain was arguably even worse than mine, and he woke up in a world where that pain was already old news. It can never excuse what he did, but I understand why he did it. I understand needing a sense of purpose after such a huge loss, and if things hadn't happened the way they did, who knows what I-"

"-would have done?" Edgeworth finishes, brows knit and lips pulled into a frown. It's a struggle to keep his eyes on Phoenix as he speaks, but the importance of his words lets him overcome his aversion. "I know exactly what you would have done, Phoenix." The blue-suited attorney visibly starts at Edgeworth's use of his first name. "Had you not been able to avenge Mia Fey's murder yourself, had our system not been so overburdened that everyone tacitly ignored your massive conflict of interest… you would have found someone else to defend. You would have honoured her memory with every case and client, and carried on her legacy just as you have here. Where Diego Armando's actions were carried out in the name of personal vengeance, you reacted to Miss Fey's death by doing what you could to put some shred of goodness back into the world." Finally, Edgeworth lets his gaze fall to the side. "She was a remarkable attorney, and I… regret my conduct towards her in our trial together." He knows that Phoenix has read the transcript of the Fawles trial, a fact that makes him squirm internally.

If Phoenix's opinion of him is tarnished by what he had read, however, he doesn't show it. When he speaks, his voice is warm, with a tinge of self-deprecation. "Yeah, well, I was a flaming disaster pile when Mia first met me. She had to undo years of _Larry Butz_ being my closest friend. If she could put up with that, I'm sure she'd have been able to look past you sounding like Manfred von Karma."

Edgeworth huffs out a laugh at that, meeting Phoenix's gaze once more. "I am much more myself these days, yes. Certainly you're in no danger of me calling you a 'novice bimbo'."

Phoenix laughs out loud, the sound bright and breezy. "Aw, Miles, I didn't know you cared!"

Instantly they both freeze, and Phoenix looks at Edgeworth like he's some sort of skittish animal as he hastily backpedals. "Oh, uh, sorry Edgeworth, I-"

"It's fine, _Phoenix_," Edgeworth replies softly, putting deliberate weight behind the man's given name. His heart is hammering, so to buy himself some time, he finally takes a sip of his latte-

And then his heart nearly stops. He brings the cup away from his lips, eyes wide. "This… may be the best Earl Grey latte I've ever had."

"So that's why you look like a choir of angels is singing in your brain right now." Phoenix is grinning at him, an unmistakably fond expression hovering around his eyes. "Told you this place was good."

"Yes, well, I suppose I stand corrected," Edgeworth replies, willing waspishness into his tone so he doesn't have to think about the effect Phoenix's gaze is having on him.

Phoenix, however, seems unwilling to let him sweep his feelings under the rug. He watches in slow motion as the attorney's blue-clad arm moves across the table, fingers reaching out to gently rest on the back of Edgeworth's hand. "We should come back here sometime," Phoenix says, "my treat."

Oh. Oh god. Is Phoenix Wright asking him on a date? The thought alone makes Miles's head spin (in a not altogether unpleasant way). Even so, underneath his barely-repressed excitement…

"Surely you can't mean that," he says. As the words tumble practically unbidden from his lips, he cringes at their indelicacy – and yet they strike true at his unease and uncertainty.

"Why not?" Phoenix replies, like what he's proposing is the easiest thing in the world.

And then the dam bursts. "Because I'm your failed charity case who nearly died a year ago, and you told me you wished that I had."

Phoenix visibly recoils, withdrawing his hand as though he's been burned. His jaw works for a moment. "Do you really feel that way?" he asks quietly, eyes wide and watchful.

Miles sighs, taking another sip of his latte to try and calm himself. "Yes and no," he concedes. "I know that we have… somewhat moved on from my reappearance during the Engarde case, enough that we were able to work together to find the truth. That… partnership successfully continued with Iris Hawthorne's trial. You have made it clear that you trust me, and I hope I have been able to communicate the same to you." He pauses, and musters the will to look Phoenix dead in the eye. "But can you honestly say that you've forgiven me for leaving that note?"

Phoenix quirks a jagged eyebrow at the question, lips pursing into a wry grimace. "Do you think I'd have just asked you out if I was still angry about that?" Taking a leaf from Edgeworth's book, he too sips his tea before continuing. "I can't deny that I _was_ angry – incredibly so – when you… left. Because I thought it had been for good, and that I was at least partially responsible. I became an attorney to help you, to 'save' you, but didn't give you the support you'd needed in the aftermath of von Karma's arrest. I didn't know what to say, where to start, so I just… let you keep being Edgeworth. And then you were gone, and I'd thought I'd lost my chance to say anything to you ever again."

Miles feels his throat constrict; Phoenix, too, draws a shaky breath before continuing. "But you came back, and you seemed more untouchable than ever, and I selfishly resented you for all the tears I'd shed while you were gone. I hadn't even been able to stand hearing your name, and I thought you would never know that because you didn't seem to care to find out. You showed up and did your work and left again just as quickly… but you're right. Somewhere within the panic and chaos of Engarde's trial, I learned to trust you again. I was able to let you walk away again, able to trust this time that you would come back." To Edgeworth's surprise, Phoenix's face breaks out into a gentle smile. "And you did come back. You flew halfway across the world to sit by my hospital bed, because you were afraid you'd lost me."

"Yes," Miles whispers.

"Then it looks like we've both had a turn at recklessly endangering ourselves and scaring the crap out of each other. I'd say we're even, wouldn't you?"

"…Can it really be so easy?"

"Only if we say it is – and I don't know about you, but I'm done with being haunted by my past mistakes. Literally, in Dahlia's case."

And there's the final sticking point. Miles cannot help but voice it, even as his traitorous heart dares to hope. "Yes, ah, about that. I should, in good faith, tell you that Iris still cares rather deeply for you. She made that abundantly clear during my stint as her defense, to say nothing of her announcement at the end of the trial."

Phoenix blinks. "And?"

"Oh come now, don't be obtuse," Miles scoffs. "You mean to tell me that you have no desire to rekindle your romance with her now that she's free from Dahlia's influence? From what I understand, the two of you were rather well-matched."

"No desire whatsoever," Phoenix asserts. "Even putting aside the fact that she'll be in jail for the next while, I'm not the same as I was when she and I dated."

"But you are the same as you were when you made me that Valentine in fourth grade?" Miles fires back. His sarcastic tone is softened by the smile he cannot quite hold back.

That impish grin is back on Phoenix's face. "Now you're getting it!" he crows. His expression mellows slightly as he tilts his head to the side, resting one cheek in his palm. "If I've read you wrong since the hospital visit and you really aren't interested, just tell me and I'll shut up… but I really think we can be something special if we let us. What do you say, Miles?"

As Miles turns their conversation over in his mind, he cannot help but notice how… light and happy Phoenix looks, like a weight has been lifted from his shoulders just in the span of their little tea break. If he himself has been the cause of this change in the other man… then how can he say no, really?

"I should warn you that I have no prior experience with such matters," he carefully replies. Reaching forward, he gently clasps the hand that Phoenix had withdrawn earlier, feeling his heart flutter as he does so. "But if you're foolish enough to have me… I will put my faith in you as always, partner." He gives Phoenix's hand a gentle squeeze. Phoenix squeezes back, and Miles's heart leaps.

"Not that I'm complaining," Phoenix says, "but 'partner' might not be the best term of endearment to use, since we're both lawyers."

Miles laughs, perhaps more freely than he has in years. "Shut up and drink your tea."


End file.
